1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method of providing broadcast channel information.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) provides information services, moving picture contents, broadcast programs, and so forth through a television (TV) set using the Internet at high speed.
Since IPTV unites the Internet and TV, it can be called a type of digital convergence. Unlike conventional Internet TV, IPTV uses a TV set instead of a computer monitor and a remote controller instead of a mouse.
IPTV is similar to general cable broadcasting or satellite broadcasting in that it provides broadcast contents including video, but is different in that it has interactivity.
Meanwhile, IPTV service requires a TV set, a set-top box connected to the Internet, a head-end sending broadcast data of IPTV broadcast channels to the set-top box, and a broadcast channel information-providing server providing IPTV broadcast channel information, and so forth.
Transmission of broadcast data of an IPTV broadcast channel from the head-end to the set-top box will now be described.
The set-top box is connected to the broadcast channel information-providing server providing broadcast channel information, and receives and displays broadcast channel information on a screen.
Here, the broadcast channel information can be generated in web page format using hyper text markup language (HTML) and Java script, and includes at least one broadcast channel multicast address that is separately set up for each broadcast channel in order to transmit/receive the broadcast data of an IPTV broadcast channel.
Therefore, the set-top box should provide a web browser to display the broadcast channel information generated in web page format using HTML and Java script on a TV screen.
In other words, the set-top box displays the broadcast channel information generated in web page format using HTML and Java script on the TV screen using a web browser.
Subsequently, when a broadcast channel is selected from the broadcast channel information displayed on the TV screen, the set-top box generates and sends a join message over the Internet in order to join a multicast group set up for the broadcast channel.
In general, the Internet can be configured with at least one network switch (router).
The network switch has broadcast channel multicast addresses that are separately set up to transmit/receive broadcast data of an IPTV broadcast channel, and information of members included in each broadcast channel multicast group.
When the join message for the broadcast channel multicast group is received from the set-top box, the network switch includes the set-top box in the broadcast channel multicast group and multicasts a broadcast data packet received from an IPTV broadcasting station to the members included in the broadcast channel multicast group.
Thereby, the set-top box displays the broadcast data multicast from the network switch on the TV screen.
Meanwhile, the set-top box generates a leave message according to a leave request for a broadcast channel multicast group and sends the leave message to the network switch.
According to the join and leave messages, the network switch manages members that join or leave the broadcast channel multicast group using Internet group management protocol (IGMP).
However, when the set-top box is turned off and then on again, it must again receive broadcast channel information in web page format from the broadcast channel information-providing server so that a broadcast channel can be selected through the web browser.
In addition, when a number of IPTV broadcast channels are included in the broadcast channel information, the amount of the broadcast channel information increases, and thus time taken to receive the broadcast channel information increases.
Furthermore, whenever broadcast channel information changes, its web page format version must be updated, and thus management efficiency decreases.